John Oliver Killens (1916–87) was a black novelist, essayist, editor, and cofounder of the Harlem Writers Guild. Born in Macon, Georgia, to literary parents who introduced him to the writings of Langston Hughes and other poets, Killens served in the Pacific amphibious forces during World War II, following which he moved to New York to focus on his writing career and, later, taught English at Medgar Evers College, CUNY. His novels include Youngblood (1954), And Then We Heard the Thunder (1962), and The Cotillion or One Good Bull Is Half the Herd (1971), the latter two of which earned nominations for the Pulitzer Prize.